Adorning the walls of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi are a series of 28 frescoes painted by the famed Florentine Renaissance artist Giotto. They tell the story of a man's extraordinary journey of faith. In this fresco, St. Francis holds up the Bas ilica of St. John Lateran, the episcopal seat of the pontiff. It illustrates the dream of Pope Innocent III, who moved by this vision, endorses the religious order of St. Francis and his followers.

Catholic News Service

Pope Francis said he was sitting next to his “great friend,” Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes “who comforted me” during the election.

When the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio went over the 77 votes needed to become pope, he said, Cardinal Hummes “hugged me, kissed me and said, ‘Don’t forget the poor.’”

Pope Francis said he took to heart the words of his friend and chose to be called after St. Francis of Assisi, “the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation,” the same created world “with which we don’t have such a good relationship.”

“How I would like a church that is poor and that is for the poor,” he told the more than 5,000 media representatives who came from around the world for the conclave and his election.

Pope Francis also said some had suggested jokingly that he, a Jesuit, should have taken the name Clement XV “to get even with Clement XIV, who suppressed the Society of Jesus” in the 1700s.